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Betar - Tagar Canada is a Zionist youth movement, built on, and inspired by, the teachings and life work of Ze'ev Jabotinsky and the dedication and heroism of earlier generations of Betarim. Its mission is to prepare Jewish youth to become knowledgeable, committed, and effective leaders.

Barbara Kay: "Countering anti-Israel propaganda is a top priority for Betar-Tagar. The group's message ithat democratic Israel's existential battle for survival within a hostile Islamic world is a preview and warning for Western democracies. Good on you, Betar-Tagar."

Ben-Gurion would today be surprised to find, for example, that Israel is regarded as illegally occupying the West Bank (and until 2005, Gaza). Along with modern Israel, this was part of the territory of Palestine within which in 1922 the League of Nations gave Britain the task of re-establishing the Jewish national home because of the unique claim by the Jews — the only people for whom it had ever been their nation state, hundreds of years before the Arabs invaded it. In other words, far from being ‘Palestinian land’, the Jews are entitled to claim it under international law, which also gives it the right to hold on to it in self-defence. Yet ‘progressive’ opinion not only denies both law and history but demands (as do the Palestinians) the ethnic cleansing of every last Jewish settler from a putative Palestinian state (just as half Israel’s population was created by Jews driven out of their ancient homes in Arab lands). So much for anti-racism.

In an attempt to combat the one-sided rhetoric on campus, Zionist groups at York have been working to represent Jewish students.
Most recently, Hasbara Fellowships and Betar launched their “terror built this fence” campaign in order to challenge the false allegation that Israel’s security fence along its boundary with the West Bank acts as an apartheid wall.
To view the Hasbara and Betar "Drown Out the Hate" film on YouTube, click here.

On March 19, 2008, a group of Jewish representatives addressed the United Nations Human Rights Council to present The Case for Rights and Redress on behalf of refugees caused by the Arab-Israeli conflicts. These are not the ones who hold the title of "refugees for the longest period of time in recorded history" and who have been supported by UNRWA welfare in "refugee camps" for the past sixty years. No, the U.N. address was for Justice for Jewish Refugees from Arab Countries, the 850,000 Jews who were expelled from their homes in Arab lands. The report refers to documents recently uncovered in UN archives that "reveal a pattern of state-sanctioned oppression that precipitated the mass exodus of Jews from 10 Arab countries."

Solomon, on his blog Solomonia, provides a good analysis:
Honest Reporting Canada reports on a vile op-ed that appeared in the student paper at York University, justifying the massacre at Mercaz Harav: Excalibur Writer Justifies Seminary Terror Attack. Author Lama Aggad says it was no surprise as, after all, the institution was both Jewish and Zionist. Imagine. Its students would also grow up to serve in the IDF which, says Aggad, is committing a "Holocaust," and desires an Israel from "the Euphrates to the Nile" -- typical Middle-Eastern conspiracy theorizing.

College papers are no strangers to printing outrageous pieces calculated for effect, though they do usually have some scruples (one would think a Canadian paper especially so) against printing blatantly anti-Semitic applause for child murder.

I did think it worth swatting one fake in Aggad's piece, a supposed quote from Menachem Begin:...Let's not forget the famous quote from the former Israeli prime minister Menachem Begin in his speech to the Knesset on June 25, 1982: "[The Palestinians] are beasts walking on two legs."

This is typical stuff -- fabricating a statement from an Israeli leader in order to justify murder. I had never heard this one before -- there are so many of these fake quotes floating around it's hard to keep up -- so I went looking. Fortunately, CAMERA illuminated the reality of Begin's statement years ago (while debunking Robert Fisk's use of the same "quote"...

We condemned the publication of a column endorsing the murder of innocent children, and asked the paper to issue a formal apology in the next edition. Our members from across Canada responded to our alert, sending hundreds of letters voicing their concerns over several inaccuracies contained in the op-ed contributor Lama Aggad.

Today, the Excalibur printed this apology and removed the op-ed from their website.

HonestReporting Canada would like to commend the Excalibur for publishing this necessary apology and thank our members, including students and community leaders, for their support and prompt action.

We would also like to acknowledge those organizations that received our alert and mobilized their members to follow up with the Excalibur. They include: Hasbara Fellowships, Betar Tagar, Media Action Group, B'nai Brith Canada, and Hillel (click here to read Hillel's excellent letter to the editor published in today's Excalibur).

One very important thing that all of us can do is to counter the endless lies and distortions of Israel's history and character that appear in the press, mass media, on the Internet, and even in scholarly journals. These distortions and outright falsehoods are a major reason why Israel is in such deep trouble, and in danger of "going under." Because the entire world has been led to believe an inaccurate, grossly distorted "narrative" of the conflict, the government of Israel feels it has no choice but to make concessions to the demands of its enemies, in order to appease world opinion. But these concessions imperil Israel's existence.

Orna Hollander, executive director of Betar Canada, said the fact that IAW is gaining momentum shows that the Jewish community can’t afford to ignore it.

"The strategy has been… from an organized community end, to not lend credibility, to be quiet about it, not bring press around it… Four years later, I think we definitely learned that we can keep our heads in the sand, but it’s going to go on with or without us. [IAW organizers] very much control the PR and rhetoric on campus, and its time to stand up and take responsibility," Hollander said.

US Ambassador Richard Jones was recently reported to have asked Supreme Court President Dorit Beinisch about the legal status of the 'settlements'.
This is indeed a subject which has long been neglected - or simply ignored. The answer to the question is a simple one, but in view of the obfuscation which has for years gathered around it, it is essential to examine its roots. They lie comfortably in the text of the Mandate for Palestine which was conferred on Britain in 1922 by the League of Nations.